5/21/2007

Happy 25th Anniversary FAC51 The Hacienda.


Twenty five years ago today saw the grand opening of a new club, which would later be "lauded as the world's best night-club."

The idea for The Hacienda was hatched by Tony Wilson, the boss of Manchester-based Factory Records, fellow director Rob Gretton, and the label's star act, New Order.

They took a lease on an old yacht showroom in a rundown industrial area in Whitworth Street West and used the existing structure of steel girders and vast interior space to form a unique nightlife experience.

The club was given its own Factory Record catalogue number, Fac 51, and its name is a reference to the Situationist manifesto, "the hacienda must be built" - the hacienda being an idealised co-operative community.

The history of the club was captured on screen in Michael Winterbottom's film 24 Hour Party People starring Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson.

Today, nothing remains of The Hacienda which was demolished to make way for a block of loft apartments.

Fans of The Hacienda will gather this evening at its former Factory bar, Dry, in Oldham Street, to share their memories.

Favourite tunes will be playing while the microphone is passed around to regular clubbers who will give their first-hand accounts.

The recordings will accompany the Museum of Science and Industry's (MoSI) archive collection of Hacienda material which is on public display until June 29.

Beginning July 19
Urbis hosts its own Hacienda retrospective with many rare, unique and previously unseen items on show, including unaired video footage.

Vaughan Allen, chief executive of Urbis, said: "The Hacienda changed Manchester forever. It did 25 years ago what MySpace does today, bringing together creative people to create something new."

The club closed in 1997.

Photo: Aidan O'Rourke
Material: manchestereveningnews.co.uk & the Inner Spaces documentary, BBC2, via benkellydesign.com